sign in sign up
<<
Home , Optical fiber

WHITE PAPER Converged Optical and Transport A strategy from Ciena and Aviat

The advent of 5G network services will bring significant 6.0 change to how users, both human and , consume 5.0 . Even before 5G rolls out, video comprises over half of all network traffic and is predicted to exceed two thirds 4.0 of all bandwidth by 2020. Whether it is the of Things, 3.0 ultra-reliable low- apps, connected , or fixed

Millions 2.0 services, 5G promises significant benefits. 5G also requires significant changes to existing network infrastructure 1.0 to deliver upon on its promise. Spectrum, , 0.0 and standards must all evolve to deliver 5G performance. CY15 CY16 CY17 CY18 CY19 CY20 CY21 Historical Forecast

The areas for evolution are many, and varied: transport Air Copper Fiber Source: IHS Markit ©2017 IHS Markit network connecting 5G to each other, data centers Figure 1. Mobile backhaul usage trending hosting accessed content, and everything in between. Current and forecast (IHS) investments in 4G mobile backhaul will continue as operators However, the simple fact remains that, as operators densify pre-build capacity in network well in advance of 5G itself. Fiber their wireless networks, fiber can be too expensive or difficult and microwave will continue to have their places in modern to deploy in certain scenarios. Regulatory requirements, 4G and 5G transport networks, although traditionally they have license fees for rights-of-way, access to public or utility- not been well integrated, leading to operational challenges owned sites, as well as physical deployment expenses and higher costs. With 5G, integration is essential. (trenching, laying conduits, maintenance access, and so on) negate consideration of fiber for some scenarios. Even when 5G Vision 1: Transport for any scenario technically feasible, long planning and deployment timelines may not be compatible with service availability requirements, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) must ensure they have the so other transport options are required. right tools for any scenario. Fiber offers essentially unlimited capacity, security, reliability, and extremely low latency—all In short, MNOs will continue to require both fiber and valuable attributes given the promised 5G performance goals microwave transport options. Microwave can meet the of 100x faster speeds, 10x lower latency, and 1,000x higher data capacity needs for some 5G deployments, has rapid volumes compared to existing 4G LTE. Ring-based deployments deployment (hours, in many cases), usually at a fraction ensure reliability by leveraging like G.8032 or of the cost of fiber trenching. It is ideal for hard-to-reach MPLS-TP for redundant paths that limit the effects from network locations in busy urban areas and over mountains, highways, faults such as fiber cuts. Low-latency targets for 5G leave little or bodies of water. While it is difficult to generalize where to allowance for end-to-end delay thru the backhaul network. Fiber use each transport option, MNOs prefer to deploy fiber where is best suited to minimize incurred delay, but is also future- they can and microwave when fiber simply cannot be deployed, proof, as advances in optical spectral efficiency will continue to which will especially be the case for 5G networks. expand its capacity and reach for the foreseeable future.